In the art of processing machinery, especially fruit processing machinery, it is known to provide a conveying means for advancing work pieces successively to and through a work station, such as in a stop and go manner. In the region of the work station, another machine subassembly performs work fucntions upon work pieces located in the work station. Means for energizing and synchronizing machine operational sequences are known.
In use, such processing machinery occassionally malfunctions. If during such malfunctioning, the conveyor means operates out of synchronization with the subassembly peforming one or more work functions in the work station, severe machine damage can result which can be time-consuming and costly to repair. Heretofore, little attention seems to have been paid to the possibility of equipping such machinery with fail safe devices which can effectively completely prevent such a destructive operating sequence caused by interruption of machine synchronization.
The need for an integral, fail safe means in processing machinery operating at relatively rapid cycle times and employing two different forms of power for machine energizing and operation (such as a continuously operating electric motor and discontinuously operating pneumatic cylinders) has become substantial in view of machine cost considerations and the losses generated by machine down time to a machine user. No cited prior art atttempts are known which provide fail safeness in such prior art processing machinery involving synchronization of electrical, mechanical and air logic systems.